While the Clippers beat up on the Lakers in the final game of the season, Kevin and I chatted about what transpired this year and what lies ahead for the Clippers this offseason.

Kevin Arnovitz: So what have we learned this season?

D.J. Foster: I think we’ve learned a lot about the roles chemistry and stability play in building a winning team. There were just too many uncertainties this season — when would Blake Griffin return? When would Dunleavy get fired? Fact is, before the news came out about Griffin’s injury being season-ending, the Clippers were hovering right around .500 and were actually playing a pretty good brand of basketball.

Arnovitz: I think we also learned that:

Winning basketball teams have guys who (a) demand double-teams and (b) can work out of those double-teams.

A team must field players who can move the ball effectively. Outside of Baron Davis, Marcus Camby was the only guy on the roster with any sort of pure point skill set.

We’ve learned that Chris Kaman on the block, while an effective tool and certainly a tent pole for the offense, isn’t an efficient enough option to carry the offense.

I’m not someone who believes that a team has to adopt an identity — I think that’s something that happens organically. But I do believe that there needs to be a overarching philosophy. The Clippers haven’t developed a blueprint for consistently winning basketball games.

Foster:So we know that Davis, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, Kaman, and DeAndre Jordan will all be back. What’s the kind of offensive philosophy that best suits those players? Have the recent years under Dunleavy proven that this team can’t perform well enough on the offensive end with a post-centric offense, even if it’s Griffin getting the touches instead of Kaman?

Arnovitz: I think there will be nights that matchups will favor Kaman and he can be a nice piece on the block. But he needs to learn how to be more useful. He’s got that 18-footer now? That’s great. Now drag the opposing big outside the lane and let Griffin explode past his defender without the threat of encountering a help defender.

Foster: Last Summer, we talked a lot about the Clippers needing that “glue guy” at the small forward position. Where did Rasual Butler succeed, and were did he fail in regards to being that guy?

Arnovitz: The team was better both defensively and offensively with Butler on the floor, so he proved to be an upgrade over Thornton in that respect. We saw him stretch the floor during that period when the Davis-Gordon-Butler-Camby-Kaman lineup was operating effectively. But I’m not sure Butler does enough Grade-A defensive work, rebounding or playmaking to qualify as Glue Guy material. He’s more Elmer’s than Krazy Glue.

Foster: My issue with Rasual is that he doesn’t seem to know his own limitations well enough to be a great role player. Not a whole lot of good comes from Rasual posting up, running the pick and roll, or putting the ball on the deck, but he does those things during the course of a game quite a bit.

Arnovitz: Yes. And recognizing your limitations is one of the most important things a player brings to the court. The Clips have a lot of guys who don’t completely understand the contours of their own games.

Foster: Baron and his jump-shooting comes to mind. Speaking of Baron, how do you assess his season this year?

Arnovitz: That’s a complicated question about a complicated dude. He’s undoubtedly a more efficient player. His true shooting percentage had topped 50 percent. More of his shot attempts are at the rim and he’s hitting those at almost 55 percent (vs. less than 49 percent last season). He’s also posted the best assist rate of his career, which had a lot to do with Kaman’s productivity. I don’t vest a lot in intangibles, but the question will remain: How much of Baron’s dogma about the game will he check at the door next season?

Foster: Right. It’s never been about a lack of talent for Baron. There are games (like his 23 point quarter against Minnesota) where it seems like he can get whatever he wants on the floor. He’s still capable of being a dominant presence…but most nights, for some reason or another, he’s not. While the Clippers certainly won’t cater to Baron exclusively during their coaching search, he’ll obviously still be factored in. Out of the available coaching candidates, who can best maximize the abilities of the remaining Clippers?

Arnovitz: I like Dwane Casey and Elston Turner. Casey is a smart coach with a very even temperament. He understands NBA defenses, and could possibly bring Dean Demopolous with him. It would be a first class staff. Turner would appeal to the team’s varied instincts. There’s enough structure in the Adelman offense to please Kaman, but it’s also improvisational (no real playcalling from the sidelines), something Baron should be able to get behind. I would also like to see some of those Doug Christie sets from back in the day installed for Eric Gordon, who desperately needs a coach who knows how to utilize him. Let’s look ahead.

Foster: Getting LeBron is obviously the dream scenario, but also the most unlikely. I’m in the camp that if you can get Wade, Bosh, or Joe Johnson with a max contract, you give it to them. The backup plan is to scalp a cash strapped team of their star player. Take Andre Iguodala for example. The Sixers are bleeding money and need to cut salary. And they aren’t the only ones — lots of teams are desperate to unload big salaries. If the Clips can’t land a big name in free agency, they shouldn’t panic. Plug in the lottery pick and be patient for the right deal to come around.

Arnovitz: Agree. It’s not Max or Bust.

Foster: But let me ask you this: Can a starting lineup of Baron-Gordon-Iggy-Griffin-Kaman compete for a championship?

Arnovitz: No. But it can compete in the Western Conference every night, provided it’s bolstered by some depth

Foster: Well then, if you think that I don’t think you do the deal. I think we’re both on the same page that the goal is to win championships. That’s it. Either you scrap it and rebuild to reach that goal, or you add the necessary pieces to get it done. There’s no in between. Go big or go home.

Arnovitz: You have to walk before you can run. I don’t believe in aiming for mediocrity, but I also believe that both Gordon and Griffin will improve. Kaman hasn’t plateaued yet and Iguodala is still relatively young. Iggy is merely a hypothetical. Luol Deng would be my choice for existing contract at the small forward.

Foster: Both Deng and Iggy aren’t number one options though. Every championship caliber team (Pistons in 2004 excluded) have clear-cut number one guys. Does Griffin have the potential to be a number one offensive option, or do the Clippers need to get one via free agency or the draft?

Arnovitz: In the next 24-36 months Blake Griffin is likely to be a No. 1 option.

Good example of a Corner set for Gordon (Christie). Baron dumps it into Chris or Griffin at the right elbow. Eric Gordon has started in the right corner. Once Baron delivers the ball to the big man, he and Gordon run a low split — sort of a pin-down for Eric. Baron ends up in the right corner, while Eric runs a curl UP from the right corner to pick up the handoff from the big man.

Eric is so good at turning the corner. If he makes that turn right on Kaman/Griffin’s hip, it’s very hard for Eric’s man to stay in front of him.

Now: Good defensive teams will have a big man waiting at the rim for Eric. If Kaman/Griffin recognizes that, he might not hand the ball off to Eric, but instead swing it weak side OR move the ball to the open guy (if that’s Kaman’s man who slid over, then somewhere on the floor, Chris should be open for a 15-footer).

If this happens, then Eric relocates to the right corner, while Baron slides up.

Option #2: Griffin-Kaman/Gordon PNR in the right corner OR the two-man game set up on the left side (The SF/Other big)

(Notice how there are so many options? I love this offense)

But Doug Christie was the guy in Sacramento who made a lot of that happen by being in perpetual motion, while Webber was that big who directed traffic from the right elbow. The 3-man game of Webber-Christie-Bibby/Peja was very, very efficient.

Gordon could play that role (if he can improve his handle and vision) and Turner is a guy, in my opinion, who could make it happen. His focus in HOU is primarily defensive, but he’s been sitting alongside Adelman for a long time and he sees everything on the floor. Love his temperament, too.

NRM

good thoughts, but I dont know. this Clippers team is so frustrating. I thought wed go at least 33. Maybe next season.

http://www.twitter.com/HitFixGregory jgroove

Nice post guys. I would rather have Rudy Gay than Iggy though, but that’s just me. Andre is another player who does not know his limitations.

On a sadder note, anyone notice how clear it was during Blake’s interview how he kept referring to his time here in the past tense? One response was akin to “Sure, they can contact my agent and offer me a nice contract, but I’ll be assuming New York, Miami or Portland offer less – which I’d take.”

kraptacular

I noticed that too. Travis Outlaw’s was even worse. In the locker room, i forget the reporter’s name… but he asked him if he sees himself as a clipper next season.. Outlaw paused for a second and you can tell he was looking for the correct words, and then he just said basically, “Uhhh… LA’s a beautiful city. We’ll see what happens.”

TNT57

no offense, but Outlaw showed me nothing while he was here that would make me worry if he stays or goes.

kraptacular

I actually thought he was the biggest chucker out of everybody on the team this year. I was just commenting on his reaction to the question that was posted. Athletes are usually pretty guarded about questions like that and he couldn’t hide the fact that he wanted out.

TNT57

Blake is not an elite player, he’s a nice role player. We can find someone who WANTS to be here to do the same job.

Q.d.

Amazing dialogue, grade-A clipper post for grade-F team

jb_baby

The Clippers won-loss record with Marcus Camby and then without speaks for itself. The rebounding, shot blocking and ball movement all improved with Marcus. In the interview with Blake Griffin it seems he learned much from Marcus. I know part of MD Sr thought process was to open up additional playing time for DeAndre by moving Marcus. Next year there will need to be playing time for Kaman, Jordan and Giffin. Does it make sense to make an offer to bring back Marcus to the Clippers for 2010-11?

Clipped12

With Sofo possibly coming over, there won’t be any room for Camby in the frontcourt. We need to spend our money on some wing help. Our frontcourt depth is fine. Kaman, DeAndre, Blake, Sofo is more than enough.

http://www.sportsciencelab.com pez

I would love to see Camby back…he was our lone intangibles guy, and even with a deeper front court we could definitely find minutes for him IMHO.

I’m not a huge Deng fan, I do like Iguodala a bit though. He’s inefficient offensively, but he brings everything else to the table that we need… and surely a lot of the reason he’s so inefficient offensively is because he’s asked to be the #1 guy, whereas on a clippers team with Blake, EJ, Kaman and Baron he could fall somewhere around the #2-4 option. He can pass, rebound and defend as well as you can hope for from your 3. I actually think he’s a good fit.

They’re both great, great choices in my opinion. Casey is pure class, knows the game and, looooooves the game. Great temperament.

In some ways, they’re very similar candidates in terms of profile.

TNT57

Kevin,

Why not pull the trigger right now on Casey and make a clear and emphatic statement that this is the man. I think letting a player dictate the coach is a bush league move and only weakens the team in perception and status.

http://www.clipperblog.com Kevin Arnovitz

He’s coaching Dallas in the playoffs.

TNT57

Ah-hah. That would be a reason. Thanks for settin’ me straight.

http://crimelaw crimelaw

I don’t know where Kevin Arnowitz gets his statistics, but the last I read Baron Davis was next to last in the league in 3pt. shot percentage & third from the bottom in 2 pt. shot percentage- both far below 50 %. Moreover, shooting is not even his worst flaw. His decision making -particularly at crunch time- is abysmal & his defense-particularly against smaller quicker guards-is virtually non-existant. On top of all of that, he refuses to ever give up the ball which makes a viable offense impossible. What star free agent wants to play with a guy like that? Good luck to any coach who has to deal with Baron & the talented but addled Chris Kamen. However, I do think it will require an experienced no nonsense coach like Jeff Van Gundy or Byron Scott to have any chance of success. I also think it will require a coach with a proven track record to entice any decent free agent to come to play for our perennially hapless team-which,of course, will continue to be near & dear to our hearts. Anyone who roots for the Clippers has to believe that some day our time will come-but I hope it happens soon since none of us is getting any younger.

TNT57

My wife says its a race between the championship and the grave. I hope the banner wins out over the hearse.

Jumbi

I agree with Foster, Championship or bust. I think if we pay max it better be for our new BEST player. They better be the rock we build around, the leading scorer on the team (unless we are smart and try to pry CP3 from NO). Otherwise we shouldn’t be paying max. Period. I agree with max for Bosh, LeBron, Wade and probably Johnson, but that is it unless others opt out.

A Rudy Gay or Iggy would really just be a role player. You can’t pay max for role players, especially when you have the BD anchor hung around your neck.

As for the “You have to walk before you can run.” comment I think we did that in 2006…

PS: Does LeBron come if we get top 3 in lotto?

TNT57

I imagine the only thing worse than having to watch this team is having to write about them day after day. Yikes. It’s enough to make you start drinking.

benwah_benyameen

in the “what the clippers need” debate you left out a clutch shooting closer. the difference between the playoffs and the lottery are the 10 wins you get from the close games that can go either way. i hate to bring up the name sam cassel but his clutch shooting either won games or stopped the other teams run the year the clippers made the playoffs. i don’t know if eric gordon is that guy. i know baron davis WANTS to be that guy but not enough to work on his 3 point shooting. next year clippers will have a competitive team but a closer is the difference between moral victories and real victories.